Do you know anyone who is autistic?  More than likely you do since it is a disorder that affects 1 in 68 children. If you are a boy the odds go down to 1 in 42.   If you do know anyone with autism, you would also know that parents and families of these children would do ANYTHING to help them to have a ‘typical’ life.  I not only know someone with autism, but I love someone with autism.  She is my cousin Ellie, and our entire family is dedicated to helping her live the best life possible, which she is entirely deserving of

My cousin Ellie:

Spend any length of time with an autistic child and you would know that eating is a major challenge.  From what I have observed, my cousin has very few foods that she will eat, creating not only a challenge for her Mom, but also dietary problems.  For Ellie, she is a lover of pasta, it has to be a particular brand and shape, and she will not deviate or try something different.  Seems that our Ellie is not alone, scientists have been looking at the effect that gluten has on autistic children after parents started to question the effect of gluten on their diets, and ask the question can gluten-free diets benefit children with autism?  The jury is still out….

A study done right here at Penn State College of Medicine looked at 387 parents or caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorders.

“Research has shown that children with ASD commonly have GI [gastrointestinal] symptoms,” says Christine Pennesi, medical student at Penn State College of Medicine. She and co-author Laura Cousino Klein, associate professor of biobehavioral health and human development and family studies, report their findings in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience.”

“Notably, a greater proportion of our study population reported GI and allergy symptoms than what is seen in the general pediatric population. Some experts have suggested that gluten- and casein-derived peptides cause an immune response in children with ASD, and others have proposed that the peptides could trigger GI symptoms and behavioral problems.”

What the research team found was that they did in fact find that a gluten –free diet did lead to “improving asd(autism spectrum disorders) behaviors”.  They also found that parents saw more eye contact (big  red flag for noticing autism in young children),  the ability for the child to keep their attention a bit longer, as well as, finding improved gastro intestinal symptoms.

According to the co-author of the study Laura Cousino Klein, she began to consider that autism may not just be a disease of the brain, but it also could involve a childs gastro intestinal functions as well as their immune systems.

“There are strong connections between the immune system and the brain, which are mediated through multiple physiological symptoms,” Klein says. “A majority of the pain receptors in the body are located in the gut, so by adhering to a gluten-free, casein-free diet, you’re reducing inflammation and discomfort that may alter brain processing, making the body more receptive to ASD therapies. “

While we here at PSU are more inclined to believe anything from our blue and white colleagues, the truth may not be that simple or clear cut.

In a study featured in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, a report by the researchers at Sweden’s Karolinksa Institute.

“In the past, we have had the believers and nonbelievers when it came to the role of gluten in autism. Over the last decade, a suggested link between autism and celiac disease grew from a few case reports and the frequency of severe GI distress among children with autism. In addition, many parents of children with autism reported improvement when they switched their children to gluten-free diets.”

In this very broad study researchers concluded that they did not find a link between those children with autism and celiac disease (which is an intestinal disorder which is triggered by a reaction to gluten).   However, the study did show that there was more prevalence of gluten-related antibodies in those children with autism, which led to gastro-intestinal problems in these children.

While the results of these studies may not be conclusive it does offer some medical validity to the issues parents and caregivers have suspected for a long time.  There is some association between gastro intestinal discomfort found in some children   The bottom line is that parents and families of these children will try just about anything to help these children, even if there is only a chance they could benefit.    The real life observers of this disorder becomes the parents, families and caregivers of these children.  Their observations of the impact of diet become extremely important.   There is a strong recommendation from experts to bring in a nutritionist to review these observations and create a plan for a diet and find what works best for your child.   I’m sure these families are not much different than mine, we will go to any lengths to promote research for this disease and offer hope to those who have been affected by this tremendous disorder.

This is a picture of a tee shirt Ellie’s Mom (my Aunt Linda) created which our family wears each year when we walk to find a cure for autism at an ‘Autism Speaks’ fund raising event on Long Island to support our Ellie.